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Political Protest Splashed Against the Canvas
What do you see in this painting? Do you see the aerial view of a sprawling neighborhood? Vintage cameras stacked one on top of the...
chiefofstaff1
Apr 12, 20234 min read


Raiders of the Lost Art
Stories of valiant archeologists who discover and expropriate ancient and powerful artifacts out of dangerous locales have long captured...
chiefofstaff1
Feb 5, 20235 min read


Sculpting Our Institutions: Artists’ role in decolonizing museums
Museums are often seen as celebrations of culture and collective memory, but their colonialist histories and racist practices are seldom...
chiefofstaff1
Jan 8, 20215 min read


BPR Interviews: Vera Molnár
Vera Molnár, considered by many scholars and historians to be the world’s first female digital artist, began her career in the mid-1940s....
chiefofstaff1
May 19, 20207 min read


Captivated by Crisis: Iran’s Unexpected Art Boom
The mission statement of the Tehran Auction–one of Iran’s largest annual art events–proudly refers to a phenomenon that may appear...
chiefofstaff1
Mar 2, 20193 min read


Exposing Exhibitions: How Sexual Assault Revelations are Shaking up the Fine Art World
The #MeToo movement that has swept through Hollywood has begun to enter new cultural spheres, most recently making its way into the world...
chiefofstaff1
Apr 10, 20185 min read


Too Close for Comfort: Sexual Harassment and the Art Industry
Amidst a flurry of sexual misconduct accusations against famous portrait artist Chuck Close, the National Gallery of Art in Washington...
chiefofstaff1
Mar 7, 20185 min read


Censoring of Chinese Art at Home and Abroad
Since October of last year, all five boroughs of NYC have been taken-over with more than 300 works by beloved Chinese artist Ai Weiwei in...
chiefofstaff1
Feb 26, 20186 min read


Vanessa German’s Art House: A Stronghold Against Gentrification
Vanessa German’s signature sculptures, or “contemporary power figures”, charge in like an army of truth, sorrow and resilience; standing...
chiefofstaff1
Nov 13, 20175 min read


The Elgin Marbles and Brexit: Should the Cultural Meddle in the Political?
No other ancient artifact has been the subject of more intense, decades-long international debate than the Elgin Marbles. Since the 1980s...
chiefofstaff1
Nov 4, 20174 min read


Going Global: The Colonialist History of African Art in Europe
“Viva Arte Viva is a Biennale designed with the artists, by the artists, and for the artists,” proclaims Christine Macel, curator of the...
chiefofstaff1
May 26, 20176 min read


The Old Champions of a New Art: Russia, Revolution, and Art, a Hundred Years Later.
Exactly a century ago, in 1917, myriad forces in Russia conspired to topple the Czar, overthrowing an autocratic system of government...
chiefofstaff1
May 10, 20176 min read


Scenes from the Edge: Protest and Performative Identity in Contemporary Russia
A journalist investigates a government official and loses his job. He returns to find police have raided his home. Later, they beat him....
chiefofstaff1
Apr 11, 20174 min read


Resistance Music in the Trump Era
Donald Trump’s election has elicited resistance marked by activism and political opposition spanning the entire partisan spectrum, from...
chiefofstaff1
Mar 20, 20174 min read


The Art of Politics: Propaganda as Aesthetic?
Starting in November 2017, the Tate Modern in London will host an exhibit called Red Star Over Russia, and will display artwork made by...
chiefofstaff1
Mar 11, 20175 min read


War Photography: A Mirror or a Window?
On August 17, Omran Daqneesh, a five-year-old Syrian boy, narrowly survived a Bashar al-Assad-backed airstrike in Aleppo. Overnight, a...
chiefofstaff1
Oct 13, 20165 min read


Solidarity Through Architecture and Ruins: A New Front in the War on Terror
In August of 2015, the Islamic State brutally destroyed the ancient city of Palmyra, Syria, one of many such attacks on cultural...
chiefofstaff1
Apr 14, 20164 min read


ISIL’s War on History
Mere months from now, Palmyra, a wonder of the world’s ancient sites and among its best preserved for 1,500 years, may be completely...
chiefofstaff1
Nov 10, 20154 min read


Culture, Incorporated: Private financing is undermining Brazil’s cultural autonomy
It’s hard to draw a line between Brazil’s arts institutions and the corporations that finance them. The Brazilian arts world depends on...
chiefofstaff1
Nov 6, 20154 min read


Celebrating Victory Amid Turkish Troubles
On August 29 and 30, to commemorate a moment of national freedom, an open-air auditorium in Turkey’s capital hosted a magical encounter...
chiefofstaff1
Sep 6, 20156 min read
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